Crimson Cigarettes
by PANDA Qiao
Summary: 'Gold boring into brown like fire melting ice, she froze and felt the flames consume her flesh.' 1920. Jasper and the Cullens leave behind a broken human Alice after Maria returns and attempts to kill her. Fast forward to 2017, and Forks High School is getting five new transfer students. Only problem? There is a painstakingly familiar vampire already there.
1. Prologue

A rewrite of the plot of my old story, 'Texan Nights'. I only had 4 chapters up, so I am hoping to start afresh on this fic. I'm changing the plot slightly and changing to to third person. Hope you all enjoy!

 **x**

 **\- Prologue -**

 _Italics = flashbacks_

* * *

''Alice, doll? Can you bring my coat downstairs?''

The petite spiky-haired girl stopped admiring her new dress in the wardrobe for a moment and quickly glanced around the room.

''But I'm deciding what to wear to school tomorrow!'' she whined playfully, reluctant to tear her eyes away from her wide array of blouses and skirts.

A deep laugh came from downstairs and she couldn't help but to giggle along.

'' _Please,_ darling,'' the voice pleaded with just as much playfulness. ''I have to go hunt.''

Her golden eyes scanned the room and stopped when they landed on a brown coat draped over the chair in the corner.

''The brown fur one, honey?'' she called. Picking it up in her small hands, she smiled as she drew circles in the fur. She had given him this coat last week for their ten-year anniversary and she couldn't stop fawning over the detail.

''Oh, not that one. I need the blue one by the dresser.''

Whipping her head round to the left, a pool of navy blue caught her eye.

''I see it!'' she chirped. ''How long do you think you'll be out hunting, sweet?'' she asked as she grabbed the coat and dusted it off with her hand.

''Probably only a few hours. I'll be back before-''

She dropped the coat when she felt the familiar beginnings of a vision take hold of her.

 _I'm probably going to see what animal he's going to catch later,_ she mused to herself as her vision began to black out.

* * *

i. **March 17th, 1920, Mississippi**

 **.**

 _Gold boring into brown like fire melting ice, she froze and felt the flames consume her flesh. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought her rib cage was going to break open any moment._

 _''I think you already know what I'm about to say,'' he muttered darkly._

 _She scoffed. ''No, because you've been changing your mind every five seconds.'' She glanced at his face. ''But you've been debating whether or not to leave me, haven't you?''_

 _The solemn expression on his face says it all. ''Please don't make this harder than it has to be, Alice.''_

 _''Jazz,'' her breathing hitches, ''my visions have been killing me lately. What's wrong?''_

 _His expression is unreadable and she begins to panic._

 _''Jazz!'' she groans when he begins to send her waves of calm. ''Stop that! Just feel my emotions for once and tell me what the hell is going on!''_

 _''Alice,'' he drawls very very slowly, as though he was tasting her name on his tongue for the last time. His eyes blacken and he shakes his head. ''I'm...I'm leaving you.''_

 _One. Two. Three seconds pass._

 _''W-What do you mean?'' she bites out._

 _''Alice, please-''_

 _''Jasper, don't you dare-''_

 _''Listen. You're-''_

 _''You know why I escaped that god-awful asylum? You, Jazz. I dreamt about you every night. I could've easily died in that shit hole,'' she bit out. ''But now, I have you, Bella, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme protecting me. I have never been safer than I am now, never happier than I am now. You're the reason I'm alive today.''_

 _She closes her eyes in effort to hold the tears back, but the amount of hurt Jasper was pouring out was causing them to slip anyway._

 _''Alice.'' He paused. ''Maria's back.''_

 _One. Two. Three teardrops fall._

 _''She found out us and threatened to kill you.''_

 _''But-''_

 _''Edward and I had to physically restrain her last night,'' he said solemnly._

 _Alice thought back to the previous night when Jasper didn't come back to the Cullen house, only returning in the morning to tell her he was 'busy hunting'. She was worried sick but gave him the benefit of the doubt._

 _''What happened?'' she said quietly._

 _He sighed. ''Maria has been following us for the last few weeks.''_

 _''W-what?'' she gasped. ''And you didn't think to tell me?''_

 _''I didn't want to put you in danger, Alice. I thought I could tell her I had no interest in rejoining her lifestyle and then that would be that.''_

 _The silence that followed said it all. She sniffled and blinked back tears. ''So, what happened last night?''_

 _He closed his eyes. ''I had told her to keep her distance from the family and you. She initially agreed, but...''_

 _''But what?'' she probed, a tear falling from her eye._

 _''Alice.'' He opened his eyes and stared at her. ''She tried to bring five newborns to the house last night to kill you.''_

 _Time seemed to stop. Her heart felt as though it had stopped working, too._

 _''If it were not for Edward reading their minds in time, it would have been too late.''_

 _She shook her head. ''Then change me! Change me into one of you!''_

 _''That is the last thing I want for you, Alice. You don't want to become a monster like me.''_

 _''Please! You're not a monster! I couldn't live without you, Jazz. I'm begging you, turn-''_

 _''I love you. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I'm so, so sorry, Alice. I'll love you always.''_

 _And before she could even think of a response, he vanished._

 _._

* * *

She's confused, her hands twitching as a blurry vision unfolds in front of her eyes.

Forks High School.

Cafeteria tables.

Doors opening.

Stunned students.

Pale skin, blonde hair...

...golden eyes.

* * *

ii **. March 24th, 1920**

.

 _Spring was relentless and the wind clawed at her skin._

 _She stood, once again, in front of the dreaded asylum, preparing to turn herself in - she had no other means of survival._

 _Jasper was gone._

* * *

iii. **April 4th, 1920**

 **.**

 _ **''Jazz!''**_

 _She's running to him and flings herself into his tall stature, not caring that his rock hard skin cuts her lip._

 _ **''Oh, Jazz! I've missed you. I've been seeing you every night in my dreams. The asylum is horrible. Can't you come rescue me again? I have so much to tell you. I love you, I love you, and I love-''**_

 _''Mary Brandon?''_

 _She abruptly wakes up in her cell._

 _The glaring asylum worker tentatively sticks her face in between the gaps of her cell's bars and raises a brow._

 _''Your experiment, Miss Brandon.''_

 _._

* * *

It had been almost one-hundred years.

Too long.

Too damn long.

 _One-hundred fucking years_.

Sure, almost an entire century had passed - to an immortal like her, it felt like nothing.

But so much had happened.

So much had changed.

They didn't know her anymore. She didn't know them. They were strangers.

...what the hell were they doing in her visions?

* * *

iv. **April 22nd, 1920**

.

 _Electrocutions. Bloody knees. Broken arms. The smell of death was raging in the atmosphere._

 _''Are you alright, Miss Alice?''_

 _Her heart burns when she looks up at him, his red eyes reminding her too much of the man who left her._

 _''Kumboh!'' she rushes to her cell door and peeks through the gaps of the bars. ''Are you on duty today?''_

 _The new vampire asylum worker is looking at her kneecaps, a slight twinge of sympathy in his red eyes._

 _''You're bleeding.''_

 _She shrugs. ''It's okay. I'm used to it.''_

 _''Would you like me to bring you more bread or water?''_

 _Her heart warmed at his kindness and she shook her head with a small smile._

 _''That's quite alright, Kumboh. I'm not hungry. I just have a headache.''_

 _He frowns and proceeds to bend the metal bars of her cell open to pass her a small bag of sweets._

 _''Sweets!'' she gasps excitedly and takes them from his large hands. ''Kumboh, you shouldn't have!''_

 _''Just lookin' out for a friend, Miss Alice,'' he chuckles._

 _Tearing the bag open and popping a red sweet into her mouth greedily, she smiles when the strawberry taste melts into her tongue._

 _''Have your visions gone back to normal?''_

 _She rolls the sweet in her mouth for a few moments before shaking her head._

 _''I've not had one over a month.''_

 _And she liked it, because she could forget everything for a while._

* * *

.

v. **August, 1920**

 **.**

 _The starless sky from her cell window is making her uneasy._

 _An hour ago, she had the first vision since he left;_

 _Rosalie's planning on buying a new dress._

 _She smiles sadly._

 _''Come back, Jazz. Even as a shadow. Even as a dream.''_

 _._

* * *

vi. **August 25th, 1920.**

 **.**

 _'Alice? Alice!''_

 _She cracks a brown eye open._

 _''Ku-Kumboh?''_

 _''Hurry, quick!'' he hissed from the window of her cell._

 _''What- What's happened?!''_

 _He's panicking, eyes wide like saucers._

 _''Have you seen anything in your visions lately?''_

 _She frowned, standing on her tip-toes and craning her neck up to see him. ''No, I haven't been having them lately. What's wrong?''_

 _''You're in danger,'' he began to explain, frantic. ''A nomad came by here. James was his name.''_

 _''W-Who's James?''_

 _''He said he was passing through the city when he smelt you. Miss Alice, you're in grave danger. He's planning to kill half the asylum just to get to you.''_

 _She's shaking. ''What?!''_

 _''This is why I came to you in such a hurry. You have two options: let James kill you, or let me change you.'' Kumboh's voice got lower. ''Either way, he is coming for you. Once a vampire sets his sights on their singer, he has got to have them. No matter what.''_

 _She's at a loss for words. ''I...I...''_

 _''Your choice, Miss Alice. Hurry.''_

 _._

* * *

She needs to sit down. Her world is spinning.

Bouts of visions filled with blurs of pale skin, trees, and high school students filled her mind.

All the memories she had been suppressing for the last few decades came crashing down on her like tidal waves -

\- and she was drowning, drowning, drowning.

* * *

vii _._ **August 29th, 1920**

 **.**

 _The unusually crisp sound of nurses' hushed whispering and birds chirping all at once made her open her eyes in agony._

 _She placed a hand on the bar of her cell and tried to lean further out, only to jump when she bent the bar completely out of place._

 _''Um...Kumboh?'' she calls out. ''Kumboh, can you hear me? I feel strange.''_

 _No answer. Instead, her confusion grew as she began to hear conversations between the other patients, although the nearest cell next to her was all the way down the hallway._

 _''Hello?'' she mumbles. ''Who's there?''_

 _She shrugs, still disorientated, and rises on her tip-toes to peer outside._

 _''Is anyone there-''_

 _She widens her eyes and took a step back, the gruesome view suddenly in front of her causing her to almost faint._

 _Kumboh lay dead on the floor, his bloody head and tattered limbs spewn across his stomach._

* * *

Finally, the visions she had been having came to an abrupt stop. Her rock hard body collapsed onto the wooden floor with a loud bang.

''Alice? Alice!'' a masculine voiced called.

She lay on the floor, entrapped and suffocated by the weight of her memories, unable to bring herself up.

.

.

.

.

They were coming back.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed the prologue. Also, I'm looking for beta-readers! :-)**


	2. Chapter 1: Ashes

**A/N: hey guys! I'm glad you enjoyed the prologue and I wanna say thank you to everyone who reviewed! I am in China rn visiting family, so I've been writing what I can in my spare time. The jet lag is unreal and I still have to adjust :0**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Crimson Cigarettes_

 **x**

 **\- Chapter 1 -**

Ashes

* * *

Winter break. The favourite season for vampires. It's cold, it's rainy and, in the case of Forks, Washington, the existence of the sun was genuinely questionable.

But for Alice Weston, winter meant something completely different.

She had spent the better part of the day with her friends from Forks High, Jessica and Angela, shopping and buying clothes for the start of school next week. She had seen a cute lilac jumper she would be wearing on the first day back in a vision and just knew she had to buy it.

"Guys, this is so me!" She squealed when she finally found it in a hidden boutique on the corner of Port Angeles.

"Look at the price tag, Alice!"

She pouted. "It's expensive to look good, honey."

Alice Weston: cute, adorable and delightfully precious - at least, that's what most people at Forks High described her as. She had enrolled there a year prior and was an instant hit with the students - not only because she was fresh meat in the dull town of Forks, but also because of her flawless beauty. Her ivory white skin, perfect features, and golden eyes were a rare sight, indeed.

Of course, being a vampire helped.

"Alice, can we _please_ have a break now?"

After a long (or in Alice's case, very very short) four hours of shopping later, the girls decided to have a rest at the coffee shop in Port Angeles. Rows of shopping bags (mostly hers, guilty) lay strewn across their feet, almost taking up the whole carpet.

Shopping had always been a habit of hers, much to the annoyance - and amusement - of Elijah, her 'mate' (for Alice didn't feel comfortable with that term, but she went with the flow of what other vampires did. Expect human blood, that was a no-no).

He called it unnecessary; she called him an idiot.

She looked around the small shop, inhaling the scent of coffee beans.

"How's Elijah, Alice?"

Oh, how to describe Elijah Weston, her better half for the last ten years.

Alice smiled a little, resting her chin on her hand.

They had just celebrated their anniversary two days ago, and Alice was still coming down from the high of all the partying they did.

Mysterious, charming, and devilishly handsome - at least, that's what most people at Forks High described him as. Granted, he didn't attend the school himself, but girls were more than happy to swoon over him when he came to pick Alice up. He was ridiculously good looking, and she knew from the moment she laid eyes on him at that casino in 1979 that he was something special.

 _"Would you like another spin, miss?"_

 _Golden eyes met ruby orbs and a heated smile full of knowing passion was exchanged._

 _"Yes, I would."_

She did more than win the jackpot that night.

Sure, she could've done without seeing him kill a human behind the back of the building, but 28 years of friendship and a ten-year-relationship later, she managed to convert him to drinking animal blood. Human blood never appealed to Alice, and she found it difficult to be with someone who did. The smell of human fear lingered on their skin, their clothes, and it made Alice feel uneasy.

They had moved to Forks together after leaving his coven back in Wichita when Alice decided she wanted a change of scenery.

That, and her visions told her Port Angeles has the most up-to-date boutiques.

 _"I can see it, Elijah. You're going to love Forks."_

 _"Alright, darling, let's do it."_

She was now attending Forks High while he posed as her brother and attended the nearby Forks University; after all, she needed a legal guardian.

Oh, and a last name.

"You sure you don't need a drink, Alice? You're always so cold like you've got pneumonia or something."

Alice giggled. "I'm fine, Ang. I had such a big breakfast this morning that I can't eat or drink anything right now."

Hey, she wasn't lying - she and Elijah went on a hunt before she left the house.

Angela gave her a suspicious look before shrugging her shoulders and turning her attention to Jessica.

"So, what's the sitch with you and Mike then, Jess?"

"Angela! What on earth are you talking about?"

Alice giggled as the two girls bickered over their cups of coffees, Jessica turning a bright tomato red.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jessica huffed, "Mike and I are just friends."

"Hmmm, sure, sure," Angela said back, narrowing her eyes. "And I'm the president of Alaska."

Jessica raised her brows. "Well then, nice to meet you, president of Alaska. What's the sitch with you and your obsession with moose?"

"Guys, guys!" Alice finally piped up, laughing.

Both girls turned to Alice.

"Alice, tell her that Mike and I are just friends!" Jessica demanded.

"Al, tell Jess that she needs to start giving us the deets!" Angela bit back.

"You guys!" Alice's fairy-like laugh chimed, "stop this silliness."

"Yeah, Angela," Jessica said triumphantly, "stop it."

"...Because we all know you and Mike are more than friends." Alice finished with a grin.

"Told ya, Jess." Angela smirked.

"I-I..." Jessica spluttered. "I..."

Alice and Angela both looked at her expectantly.

"Fine!" She finally sighed. "Okay, _maybe_ we've been on a date or two. Nothing major."

"Jess!" Alice gasped. "That is a major deal! Mike doesn't interact with girls. Like, ever."

"I know," Jessica blushed. "That's why I made the first move."

"Ooh, so you asked him out first?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, I had to. He was definitely not going to make the first move and I was beginning to worry he didn't like me."

"You know," Angela began, turning to look at Alice, "I've never seen you interact with guys. I mean, you do like guys, right?"

Alice blinked in confusion for a moment before realising what Angela was hinting at. "Oh! Right, right. I like guys, if that's what you're asking."

Could they blame her, though? The majority of guys at Forks were way too immature and - not to mention - not her _species_.

Also, she had a mate.

"Come on, Alice! There must be someone you like. What about Austin? He's so dreamy..." Jessica said with a glazed look in her eyes.

"Isn't he just!"

"O-Kay..." Alice laughed. 17-year-old basketball players just didn't cut it for her.

Also, she had a mate.

"Don't tell me you've already got a boyfriend?" Angela gasped. Jessica mirrored her action and both girls stared intently at the small pixie girl.

Said pixie-girl shook her head and shrugged. "No ones caught my eye, I suppose."

"No one?" Jessica asked.

Oh, did she mention she had a mate?

But alas, what could she tell them? _"Hey, I've actually got a two-hundred-and-eighty year old boyfriend. He's posing as my brother, by the way."_

Hmm, best not.

"No one."

Jessica and Angela exchanged looks of bewilderment before finishing their coffees quickly and gathering up their shopping bags.

"Your brother probably scares them all off, Alice," Angela laughed.

"Yeah, Elijah seems _sooo_ protective of you."

Alice gave a small smile.

Oh, the irony of it all.

"Okay, so we've still got some shops to go to. Is everyone ready to go?" Jessica stood up and grabbed her bag.

"I'm always ready to shop." Alice laughed.

Quickly gathering up their things (Alice had to feign a little struggle carrying all 16 of her shopping bags), the girls walked out of the shop and into the cold air. Angela and Jessica seemed to be freezing their asses off and Alice couldn't help but to sympathise; Forks was having one of its worst winters yet. Whilst everyone else couldn't stop complaining about how shit the weather was and how the sun had died, Alice and Elijah found that they could go outside at _any point during the day._

"Hey, so did you guys do the homework for Mr. Boyer's class?" Jessica asked as they walked into a shoe shop. Shoes big and small, dark and sparkly lined the walls and Alice felt her inner child coming out.

"The research on Weimar Germany? Yeah, it was kinda difficult." Angela yawned, settling herself down onto a chair.

Alice wandered round the shop for a while, taking in all the colours and styles before her eyes landed on a pair of emerald green heels.

She slowly walked up to them, examining the shining rhinestones embedded into the heel.

"These are pretty." She said out loud, but her efforts went unnoticed as Angela and Jessica paid no attention to her and started talking amongst themselves.

She leaned in closer, the exotic green drawing her in for some reason. Picking the shoe up gently, she looked at the bottom.

 _BRAND: INGRID WHITLOCK._

She blinked at the name. It seemed a little familiar.

Alice remembered virtually nothing of her human past, so she realised it was natural that sometimes she felt a little inclined to some things more so than others - she figured it meant that it had something to do with her human life, even if she couldn't for the life of her (pun not intended) remember what.

For example, she found herself pausing the film and staring at Robert E. Lee for an hour last week in _Gettysburg._ Or the time where she didn't want to leave Texas because their accents made her feel warm and giddy inside.

 _"Oh my god, what if I was a cowgirl?"_ She once seriously suggested to Anastasia, a girl she used to live with back in the Wichita coven.

Shrugging, she put the shoe back down. They didn't go with anything she bought today.

Suddenly, her vision went black.

 _"We have to move. People are getting suspicious."_

 _"Are you serious?"_

 _"Yes. The faster we move, the better."_

 _"Alright. Find a school for us to transfer to, otherwise they won't let us leave."_

Alice quickly jolted back to the present, the sounds of Angela laughing coming into focus.

"Haha, Jess! You are such a weirdo. Who even thinks of putting mustard and grapes together?"

Alice blinked and frowned in confusion.

 _What was that?_

"Look at these babies!" Jessica gasped as she grabbed the shoes in front of Alice's face. Alice stumbled back a little, taken by surprise at the sudden outburst from her friend.

"Guys, are these too much for a date? Good find, by the way, Alice."

Angela's head whipped round, a brown boot in her hand. "You're going on another one? You didn't tell us!"

Alice stared at the shoes in Jessica's hand and willed herself to come back to her senses.

It was probably just some unimportant vision.

"They're just perfect for a date."

Jessica sighed, relieved. "I asked him to go to _Italian Fever_ with me. That's not too desperate, is it?"

Angela squealed. "Don't be silly! Girls need to take initiative sometimes."

"Oh, thank god. I just didn't want to look too clingy-"

 _Seriously, again?_

Alice groaned as she felt another vision coming,

 _"Hey, Jess." Mike smiled as she walked into the restaurant. Standing up to give her a hug, he looked her outfit up and down._

 _"Hi, Mike." She smiled back, fluttering her lashes._

 _"Wow. You look...beautiful, Jess. Really, you do."_

This time she came back with a smile on her face.

Of course, Alice could've told her that without the vision - Mike was smitten with Jessica, and everyone knew.

"He's going to love them. I can see it." Alice giggled.

Literally.

Jessica's face lit up. "You think so?"

Alice nodded definitively. "Yep. They really suit you, Jess."

"But I haven't tried them on yet," she laughed.

Alice shrugged and gave a wink. "Woman's intuition."

Jessica gave Alice a funny look before walking over to the long mirror, cradling the shoes against her chest. She turned left and right, the scent of her shampoo tickling Alice's nose.

"Hey," Angela piped in, "aren't you and Mike in the same German class, too?"

Jessica moved to sit down on a chair and tried the heels on. "Yeah, Ang. Why?"

"Well, why don't you ask him to be your partner in the group project that's coming up? He's pretty good at German and, no offence, but your German could do with some help. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"Oh, yeah," Jessica muttered, "I totally forgot about that project."

"That's what winter break does to you." Alice giggled, even though she had completed the whole 9000 word assignment on Weimar Germany by herself already.

Whoever was going to get her as a partner will be thanking their lucky stars.

"I don't think you can choose your partners this time, you know." Jessica said as she stood up and admired the shoes in the mirror. They sparkled intently under the light and Alice was mesmerised by the colour. "Pretty sure Mr. Boyer said that he was going to put us in pairs this term. It depends on who we sit next to, I think."

Angela rolled her eyes and picked up a black ugg boot from the shelf. "Great. That means I have to work with 'Princess' Nerissa."

"Ooh," Alice whistled, "that's pretty bad."

"Tell me about it." She replied with a sigh. "Pretty sure she hates me because I didn't compliment her dress at the summer ball last year."

"Yeah, well, you know what she's like. What about you, Alice?" Jessica asked. "Who's your partner?"

She smiled gleefully. "No one sits next to me in German."

"Oh, that's right," Angela mused. "Ever since Todd transferred away to Michigan, you've been sat by yourself."

Not going to lie, Alice was extremely thankful Todd Hall left just at the end of first semester. He was possibly the first human whose stench made Alice want to projectile vomit animal blood all over the classroom.

And Alice did not usually want to projectile vomit animal blood all over the classroom. That, and he sucked at German.

" _Ich komme aus Todd!"_

"I want to work by myself," Alice said, shuddering at the memory of working with Todd, "I tend to take the lead of projects, anyway."

"I'll send an email to Mr. Boyer to see if I can switch seats to sit next to you." Angela sighed. "Nerissa is bound to drive me insane."

The girls all laughed before quickly purchasing their items (black boots for Angela, red heels for Jessica, and five pairs of ballet flats for Alice, naturally).

Exiting the shop, Angela and Jessica have Alice a hug before turning to leave.

"See you sometime soon, Al! We have a bus to catch!" They called and gave her a little wave before they made their way to the bus stop. Alice waved back and turned around, skipping to the car park.

She smiled as her yellow Porsche came into view.

* * *

 _"I can't believe we have to move already. It's only been a year."_

 _"Rose, relax. You don't want to get in trouble with the Volturi, right?"_

 _"No, but I'm sick of moving around so frequently."_

 _"I'll tell Carlisle. We'll move before winter break ends."_

* * *

"You think I bought too many scarves today, Elijah?"

Boxes pink and purple littered the small living room, making it impossible to make out if the room had any furniture.

"Just a little." He laughed back.

"Hmmm," she mused, biting her lip, "but they were all so pretty. I couldn't leave them rotting away in the shop."

"Al, someone would've bought them if you didn't, you know." He came closer to her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

She smiled into him. "I know, I know. I couldn't help myself."

"You are terrifying." He laughed as he ran up the stairs and walked into their bedroom.

She smiled when she heard the familiar rustle of paper and knew that he was busy at his desk, writing again.

She grabbed a handful of boxes and ran up the stairs and swung the door to their bedroom open.

He was gripping a fountain pen in his hand and his face was full of concentration.

"University work?" She asked curiously.

"Assignment on the uses and effectiveness of genetic engineering on animals with hereditary diseases." He smiled.

Alice shuddered and wrinkled her nose. "Gross."

He merely laughed back, his hand eloquently gliding the pen across the page.

She stilled for a moment and leaned against the doorframe, soaking in the sight of her love.

His shaggy black hair fell into his amber eyes and a small smile was painted onto his thin pink lips. His aquiline nose was perfectly angled in the shade of the table lamp beside him and she sighed quietly in bliss.

"Enjoying your surroundings?" He asked, eyes still on the task in hand.

She clicked her tongue and put all her stuff down onto the bed. "Nah. I don't see anything special."

Still, he does not lift his eyes. "Ouch. That hurt, lady."

She peered into one of the bags and smiled. "Deal with it."

"Anyways," he rolled his eyes in amusement, "there's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

Alice turned to face him. "Shoot."

He places his pen down. "There's still a few days left before winter break ends. Do you want to visit Lilium tomorrow?"

Lilium was the leader of the coven she and Elijah used to live with. Alice and Elijah still regularly visited them all a handful of times a year, so Elijah's proposal was nothing out of the ordinary.

Alice nodded eagerly. "Sure. I've missed them."

He walked over to her and grinned.

"What?" She mused.

He placed a hand on her cheek. "You're telling the truth."

"Lijah!" She giggled and hit his chest. He took a step back and feigned hurt. "There was no need to use your power on me. Why would I lie about something like that?"

"Just makin' sure," he chuckled.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, breaking away from him to sort through the hoard of boxes. "You and your annoying gift."

She will admit, it was a pretty neat gift - he could sense if someone was telling the truth or lying just by simply looking at them in the eye. The only way to avoid it was to not make eye contact, and Alice found that she was doing it a lot at the start of their relationship when he questioned just how much she was spending on clothes.

 _"Did you buy this today, Alice?"_

 _"What are you talking about? Of course not-"_

 _"Alice, look me in the eyes-"_

 _"Ohhhh, would you look at that, it's 4am. Time for school, gotta dash!"_

 _"Wait, Alice! School doesn't start for another five hours!"_

"Speaking of gifts," he said as he watched her, "the main reason I thought we should go to Wichita tonight is because they have a very special guest over."

Alice stopped mid-track, intrigued.

"In Wichita? What guest?"

"Well," he continued, "one of Lilium's old friends is staying with them for a few weeks. His gift might be of use to you."

"Really?" She raised a brow. "How so?"

"He has a very peculiar gift. Granted, it's normally of no use to anyone, but I think you'll benefit greatly from it."

"So," she cocked a brow, "you're saying his gift is of no use to anyone except me?"

Elijah nodded. "Something like that. You..." he gently started, careful not to upset her. "You know how you...don't really remember much of your past?"

Her shoulders tensed at his question and she cast her eyes down.

 _Human life._

Those two words had the power to make Alice tremble in frustration in a split-second.

"Alice, look-"

"No, Lijah, it's fine. We've had this conversations many times." She smiled sadly, "I get upset sometimes because I don't remember much about my human life, you know?"

'Get upset' is often translated to 'I will constantly be thinking about it, but not enough so that you'll notice, but enough so that when you bring it up, I will go into a deep, deep depression in three-seconds-flat' in Alice-speak.

But not always. Only often, for she would be in an ever-ending bout of depression if she never stopped thinking about it.

He wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"When you talk about your human life - your mother, your father, your little brother...I just get a little jealous, that's all."

She doesn't remember anything, but she managed to work some things out.

Firstly, she knows that she was committed into an asylum - that was the place she woke up in as a vampire. The sounds of patients crying and the smell of dirty blood in the air was a first impression of vampire life she could've done without.

Secondly, she knows that the vampire who changed her was murdered. She saw his mangled corpse outside her cell.

Again, a first impression of vampire life she could've done without.

Thirdly. And thirdly...

She thinks there was a man before Elijah.

Why?

She raised a hand to her necklace and softly gripped the locket.

 _She gasped as she peered over Kumboh's dead body, her hand flying to her chest. Upon the sound of rock hitting metal, she looked down at the small silver heart._

 _"Yours truly, Jazz..." she murmured, staring at the necklace in her hand._

Of course, she never told Elijah.

"I just want to know." She whispered.

"Alice, that's where this vampire's gift comes in."

She stared up at him.

"His name is Yun. I don't know much about him, but I know that he was created in China a few thousand years ago. He has the gift of memory stimulation."

"M-memory stimulation?" Alice repeated.

"Yes, precisely. He is able to bring back snippets of your memories by simply touching you. Like I said, its an extremely unique gift, but it's not much use to most vampires."

"Except me," she began to break into a grin. "This means...this means there's a chance of remembering my past!"

"Yes, Al," he kissed her nose. "There's hope."

"How come you didn't think to mention this to me before?" She asked, slightly disheartened. He knew how much she longed to remember her human life.

She stopped complaining so much about it when she moved in with him and his then-coven as she had new memories to basque in, but he knew it always bothered her.

"He was incredibly hard to track down. She only managed to find him after I kept pestering on and on about how desperately you needed it."

Alice's face lit up. "Y-you did this for me? Lijah!"

She jumped into his cold arms and wrapped her arms around his strong neck. Placing her small mouth onto his, she kissed him slowly and tenderly, relishing the joy she was feeling in that moment.

His bright amber eyes locked hers into a hold.

"I love you, Alice." He whispered.

She giggled. "I love-"

Her arms suddenly dropped and hit his shoulders hard as a vision hit her.

 _A blond doctor is leaning against the reception table, a notepad in his hand._

 _"It's my last shift here today," he says softly to the receptionist. His voice sounds as smooth as syrup._

 _Sadness fills her blue eyes. "Oh, but why, Dr Cullen? You're the one of the best doctors around here!"_

 _He chuckled. "I've decided I need a change of scenery. The kids don't really like it here."_

She jolts back to reality and almost falls from his grip.

"What did you see?" Elijah muses, grabbing her elbow.

"Ummm..." she focuses back into reality, not even sure herself what she just saw. "I...don't know."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

She pursed her brows together and tried hard to recall the blurry vision she just had.

"I mean...I think I just saw a doctor telling a receptionist he was leaving his job. It was fuzzy, though."

Elijah raised a brow. "Did you know him?"

Blond. Doctor. Name...Cullen?

Alice shook her head. "No."

Elijah looked deep in thought. "That is strange."

She shrugged and jumped up and down excitedly. "Never mind about that, I'm going to find out about my past!" She immediately stopped jumping when she heard the floor begin to crack.

"Maybe you should find another means to convey your emotions, Alice." He said sheepishly.

Her eyes lit up devilishly.

"Shopping?"

* * *

 **A/N: hope you all enjoyed ! It's on the short side, but I will write more in the later chapters. Still looking for a beta reader!**


	3. Chapter 2: Smokestacks

**A/N: chapter 2 is up quite quick this time!**

* * *

 **Crimson Cigarettes**

\- Chapter 2 -

 _ **x**_

 _Smokestacks_

* * *

 _"Do you really need to pack all those books?"_

 _"Unless they still sell the original copies from 1884 then yes, I do need to pack them all."_

* * *

Alice gripped the seat nervously, a wide array of emotions running through her as she tried to pay attention to the trees whizzing past outside.

 _Calm, Alice. Calm, Alice. Calm THE HELL DOWN, ALICE._

"Relax, Al. It's going to be fine."

She couldn't even bring herself to turn to look at Elijah, who had been driving for the last few hours.

The car journey to Wichita started off alright - she was excited to the point she couldn't sit still, gushing on about how she was going to finally find out if human life was really as good as everyone else made it out to be.

 _"I wonder what my favourite food was...for some reason, I'm thinking sushi. Wait, did they even have sushi in the US back then?"_

No less than ten minutes into the journey, bouts of visions begin to hit little Alice, and she had yet to tell Elijah what she saw.

"Alice, please talk to me." He whispered, eyes on the road. The sun was still yet to rise and the roads were empty. Alice was glad, for the last thing she wanted was to be surrounded by humans.

"Lijah," she finally murmured after a few minutes of silence, "are you sure this is a good idea?"

The heavy weight of uneasiness was pooling at the bottom of her stomach, and she actually felt a little carsick.

He creased his brows. "What did you see, Alice?"

She sniffed before muttering, "I see myself screaming. There's a lot of pain in my eyes. I'm on the floor in pain."

Visions of her in various states of depression and sadness flashed before her. She's not sure if she ever remembers being that sad before.

"We can head back if you want. You don't have to do this if you're not ready, sweet."

She thought for a moment before shaking her head vehemently. "No. I have to know." She bit out. "I've been in the dark for way too long. I need answers."

Sure, she could've quite easily gone home and lived a happy life like she had done for the past few decades, but she always felt something missing.

Whether it be reading, watching a film, or even being with Elijah - she couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

This had to be the missing piece.

He remained silent, pulling into a smaller road.

"You know," she began, "I'm not expecting a happy past, anyway."

"And why's that?"

Her eyes moved to the Starbucks that was at the end of the road and watched as the lights turned on.

"I was put into an asylum - I'm guessing it had something to do with my visions."

"Not necessarily, Al," he replied as they drove past a line of shops, "you have to remember the early 1900s was a different time. People couldn't accept anyone that was different."

"Except I checked up on the asylum again fifteen years after my disappearance. The asylum originally told everyone I had killed myself." She lowered her voice and her head. "No one came to ask about my death."

"Oh, Alice..." he breathed, the car slowing down a little. She turned her head away and rested it on the window.

She checked; no one had left a note, a letter, anything.

It was like she never existed.

"I'm ready to see my past however shit it is. I'm strong enough now."

Elijah's silence conveyed a respectful indication that he agreed with her decision, and the remaining hour of the car journey passed relatively quickly. The traffic had just started to pick up and Alice couldn't help but to stare at the other humans in the little cars in envy.

 _I wonder if I was a nice human..._ she mused.

Alice smiled when the scent of three familiar vampires and one unknown wafted into the car.

"Think they missed us?" She giggled.

"Well, we're about to find out." He chuckled.

They soon pulled into a familiar cul-de-sac, where they were greeted by four vampires that were already outside.

A 40-something-year-old with curly red hair wearing an orange jacket waved animatedly at them as Elijah parked the car on the sidewalk.

"Alice!" She cried, hugging the small girl as soon as she got out the car, "How are you, my dear?"

Alice laughed, hugging the woman back. "I'm okay, Lily. How have you all been?"

"Very well, dear, although we've been a bit lonely since you and Elijah left."

She looked around to see four pairs of red eyes staring intently at her; Elijah had already gone inside, saying something about hiding from one of the female neighbours that was obsessed with him.

Alice first noticed Lilium looking more tired than usual, but that was nothing new - when Alice and Elijah lived with her, she would spend the majority of the day cleaning and redocorating the house. She was the closest thing Alice ever had to a mother, so it upset her a little bit to see her looking so dishevelled.

Next, her eyes wandered to the young woman standing next to Lilium. Her black hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, and her lips were curved into a smile.

"Emmeline!" Alice squealed upon seeing one of her closest friends (and not to mention, shopping-partner-in-crime) again.

The girls exchanged a quick hug.

"I've missed you!" Emmeline cried, tugging at Alice's brown leather jacket. "Is this new?"

"Yeah, I got it yesterday."

"Ooh, where from? I need a new jacket, I'm thinking maybe wool on the hood and then a dark red on the sleeves, and-"

"Oh, look what's you've started, Alice!" A male voice interjected humourously.

"Freddy!" Alice laughed upon seeing the brown-haired man roll his eyes.

Freddy was Emmeline's mate, and he - like Elijah - just didn't understand their obsession with fashion. Instead, the boys used to play sports and games together whilst she and Em went shopping or to the salon.

"Good to have ya back, squirt." He ruffled her hair. She turned away, and came face to face with a tall Chinese man.

"Um, hello." She began shyly. He was looking at her curiously, and she noted he didn't look a day over 30. "You must be Yun?"

"Yes. Nice to meet you, Alice." He replied back with a bit of an accent. His dark red eyes were smouldering and, had he worn coloured contacts, his tanned skin could have let him get away with passing for a human.

Alice's emotions held a peak of curiosity as she realised that the man stood before hand had the powers to give her the answer to her past - literally. She glanced down at his outstretched hand unseasily and then looked back to him.

"Oh, don't worry about shaking my hand." He laughed, "My powers only work when I want them to."

Sighing in relief, she took his cold hand in hers and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Alice," Lilium said, coming to put her hands on Alice's shoulders, "Yun is a very old friend of mine. We met during the English Civil War."

Yun chuckled, his deep voice filling the silence of the early morning. "You're making me feel old, Lily."

"Oh, hush!" She chastened him. "I'm older than you!"

"Only by a few hundred years." He winked.

The sounds of their laughter echoed down the small road, and Emmeline gently placed a hand on Alice's back.

"Let's go inside. I bet Elijah is getting before hiding from Sally."

Alice laughed and internally cringed upon the memory of their last visit, where the neighbour from the opposite house ran up to Elijah and proclaimed "You're hot! Let me have your babies! We'd be the best parents ever!"

Needless to say, Elijah was scarred for life.

"So," Lilium said as they reached the living room where Elijah's was currently reading _Wuthering Heights_ , "I'm sure Elijah has told you about Yun's powers?"

Alice nodded. "Yes, he has. Before that, I didn't know this kind of power existed. It shocked me, to say the least."

Alice had seen her fair share of strange gifts from her 97 years as a vampire - from the ability to bend spoons (shoutout to Louise from New York in 1934, she mentally notes) to the gift of, she shits you not, being able to wrap presents perfectly - Alice had thought no other gift could surprise her anymore.

But Yun's gift was truly special, and she couldn't help but feel grateful that she had Lilium as a connection.

"I was a medium in China during the Han Dynasty," Yun explained, taking a seat beside Elijah on the sofa. "So I've been clairvoyant all my life."

She raised her brows. "Me too. Except, I see the future, not the past."

Suddenly, Elijah's words from the day before made sense: " _His gift is of no use to other vampires."_

Whilst she could avoid mistakes and create a fortune for herself with the use of her visions, all Yun could do was grant other vampires a peek into their past lives, and most vampires remembered their past lives vividly; Elijah used to always talk about his family growing up in California, Lilium still mentioned her husband now and again, Emmeline loved to talk about how fashionable she used to be in the Edwardian era, and heck, even Freddy sometimes talked about how much he missed his goldfish, Milo.

"Us clairvoyants don't have it easy in vampire life, do we?" He muttered quietly. "The Volturi is always hot on my heels for my gift." He turned to Lilium. "That's why I've been so hard to track down, Lily."

Lilium shook her head. "That's fine, Yun, you do what you have to do to stay safe. You're staying for another week, right?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I'm leaving for Germany in a week."

"Which means Alice, you might not find out everything about your past life in this one week," Freddy said, " but I'm sure you'll find out plenty."

Alice nodded, processing all the information that was being thrown at her. Somewhere deep down in her stomach, there was a niggling feeling that if she didn't want to get hurt, then she would walk out the door and drive back to Forks.

She stumbles back slightly as a vision unfolds.

 _She's sitting on a park bench, her head in her hands._

 _"Alice, we can go home if you want. You don't have to do this."_

 _"I have to, Elijah! I have to know!"_

Elijah's arms catch her as she blinks and all of a sudden sees five pairs of eyes looking at her.

"What is it, Alice?" Emmeline asked.

Alice swallowed before breaking free from Elijah's grasp and straightening her dress out.

"I just want to warn everyone that I may be a little...upset during the course of unveiling my past," she said, looking at the floor. "I already know it's not going to be pretty. I've seen it in my visions. Whatever my human life was," she takes a deep breath, "it's going to leave me in pieces. But I don't want anyone to convince me otherwise. I want this." She looked up, eyes black with determination. "I want this more than anything."

Silence encased the room as everyone looked at each other nervously. No one wanted to see Alice in pain, but she had made herself clear.

She was going through with this.

"Very well, child," Yun broke the silence and rose from the sofa, "would you like to start the process now, or would you like to prepare yourself?"

Alice was taken a little aback by the question and turned to Elijah. The thought of taking a timeout before this all hadn't even crossed her mind - after all, she had been waiting all her life.

But it probably made sense to do so, as she was certain her life wasn't going to be the same afterwards.

"I think I should go outside for a bit," she mumbled, "just to clear my head."

"You want me to come with?" Elijah asked, squeezing her hand.

She stared up into his eyes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "No. I want to be alone."

Everyone nodded in understandment as she zipped her jacket up and headed for the doorway.

"Take as long as you need," Yun said, opening the front door for her, "and come back when you are ready."

She gave a small smile, stepping out into the fresh air. "Thank you."

If her mind was a blurry mess now, she dreaded to think what it would be when she got back.

* * *

She sat in the quiet coffee shop with a hot chocolate placed on the table in front of her - untouched, of course.

It had been a full three hours since she left the house and decided to have some 'Alice-time', but she was finding it harder to concentrate with every minute that went by. By now, she had visited four shops, two cafes, and all five churches the quiet district had to offer.

For once, seconds felt like hours and minutes felt like decades.

She tapped her manicured nails on the table and watched the barista wipe down a table near hers, her wedding ring catching Alice's eye.

Alice looked down at her own promise ring that Elijah got her a few years ago and bit her lip.

Whilst she was sitting in one of the churches she had visited earlier, a thought had occurred to her. A very, very worrying thought.

What if...

What if something she remembered could endanger her and Elijah's relationship?

She loved him, she really did. There was no doubt about it. She felt a deeper connection with him than anyone she had met before, and he was her first partner.

But that's where she's not so sure.

She's absent-mindedly fiddling with her necklace again, a habit she had been picking up a lot in the past few hours.

She glanced down at it for the umpteenth time that day.

 _"Yours truly, Jazz..."_

She had done her research in the asylum years after she was proclaimed dead, under the guise that she was a government official coming to take some statistics. Granted, it was a hard-to-believe excuse, but one sweet smile at the guard was all it took and he was willing to do anything for the pretty pixie girl.

She had searched around and found that, whilst there were no Alices who died on the same day as her in that particular asylum, there was a Mary Alice. She tried to find all she could on this Mary Alice person, and all she found was the name of her parents and her little sister: Harold, Josephine and Cynthia.

No mention of this 'Jazz' person.

She toyed with the idea it could have been given to her by a distant relative or grandparent, but didn't 'yours truly' convey a romantic tone?

"Alice, pull yourself together!" She scolded herself, "Why are you afraid that a dead human who may-or-may-not have had a relationship with you will come in between you and Elijah?"

Or what if her horrible past completely breaks her, and she becomes a broken ghost of who she used to be? Then Elijah would definitely leave her.

"Ugh," she groaned, "stop it, Alice."

She really was overthinking this.

Giving the barista a last glance, she stood up and grabbed her things. She was halfway through wrapping her scarf around her neck before her vision began to blur.

 _A girl with blonde hair is sitting on the banks of a river, her back turned. Suddenly, a girl with long brown hair emerges from the river in a bathing suit and sits next to her, her hair covering her pale face._

 _"What about Arvada?" The blonde girl shifts ever so slightly._

 _"No. They've opened up two new blood banks since we last went."_

 _The blonde sighs and stands up dejectedly._

 _"Guess we'll have to find somewhere else, then."_

"Miss? Miss!"

Alice blinked to find the barista she was looking at before waving a hand in front of her face, her wedding ring gleaming in the light.

"You dropped this." She said, putting Alice's handbag she was holding before the vision on the table.

"Thank you." Alice quickly mumbled, still a little confused about the significance - and meaning - of the vision she just had.

"So," she muttered to herself as she walked down the road, "Jessica is bleaching her hair lighter and Angela is going to go swimming in the river." She held back a giggle at the thought of Angela swimming in the freezing river at this time of year, and wondered why she couldn't just go to a swimming pool.

After a couple of minute of walking aimlessly, she found herself at the end of a familiar street.

 _Oh._

She had mananged to end up back at the house again.

Elijah was standing by the front door - no doubt having smelt her scent from a mile away - and Alice gladly ran into his arms.

"Lijah," she said through the layers of his clothing, "I missed you."

"Shhh, Alice, I'm here."

They stayed in that hug for a few minutes before Alice realised that she should probably get going inside - after all, Sally was probably watching them.

"Alice, are you ready?" He asked, grasping her head between his hands so that she was looking at him.

She pursed her lips before nodding.

"Yes. Yes I am."

He studied her eyes and smiled gently.

"You're telling the truth."

* * *

"Alright," Yun said as he took a seat opposite Alice in the living room, "tell me what you know already about your past."

Alice sighed, feeling everyone's eyes on her in that moment.

"Not much," she said, her hand clasping Elijah's tightly, "I know that I had a sister, and I was put into an asylum."

"And that's all?" Yun asked, rolling his sleeves up.

Alice eyed his hands wearily and began to feel queasy.

No! You are not backing out now!

"That's all." She said sadly, although she realise she would probably wish that that was all she remembered after this.

He seemed to be in deep contemplation for a moment before reaching his hand out across the table.

"My hands have the power to grant you memory stimulation once every few hours - it takes up a lot of energy for me, you see. There's no guarantee how long the memory you see will be - could be a few seconds, could be a few hours. You might see one memory, or a dozen in one go."

Alice stared at his hand, mesmerised. This was finally her chance to find out about her past life.

"Go on, Alice," Freddy nudged her.

Emmeline nodded. "Don't be scared."

Determination written across her face, she placed her hand very gently on his.

She instantly felt an electric shock go through her cold fingers and she had to bite back a gasp.

"Now, count with me," he began. "One...two...three..."

She closed her eyes and waited. It felt as though she was having a vision, but she soon realised it was anything but.

.

 _The small room is dark. Old wallpaper is coming off the walls and rain is pounding against the dirty windows, There's one single candle on the bedside table and two young girls are lying in a small bed together._

 _"Alice, I'm scared."_

 _The younger girl is crying and hugging a pillow to her chest._

 _"Cynthia, don't be. Big sister Alice is here and always been will be here for you."_

 _"But daddy thinks you're insane! You predicted mommy's death before it happened!"_

 _Young Alice's jaw tensed up and tears welled up in her eyes. "It's not my fault he didn't believe me. Mommy could have been saved."_

 _Alice wipes a tear from her eyes and sniffles._

 _"Ali, promise you won't leave me like mommy did?"_

 _The younger blonde girl breaks out into a small cry and they snuggle closer to each other in bed._

 _"I promise."_

 _._

 _She's now in a different room, but seems to be still be extremely young._ _Maybe 14, 15 at most? There's an older man with brown hair and angry eyes opposite her, clad in a business suit and tie._

 _She backs into the wall, eyes round with fear. She lifts a bony hand to an old man's face and screams._

 _"You're planning on murdering me! Your own daughter!"_

 _His brown eyes narrowed and the hatred seemed to be jumping out."Alice, don't be ridiculous-"_

 _"I saw it! I saw it!" She was hysterical. "You're going to murder me just like you murdered my mother!"_

 _"Be quiet, young lady! How dare you-"_

 _"You think I don't know? You think I didn't work it out? You murdered my mother. Your murdered your own wife just so you could marry that woman."_

 _His face paled and his breathing hardened. Very quietly, he took a step towards her and glared at her._

 _"You have two choices. You will either be put to an asylum and never contact us again, or we will have to get rid of you. Just like I got rid of your mother."_

 _._

The first thing she hears is the sounds of her dry sobs.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

She looked down and realised she had snapped the table in two.

"I...I-"

"Hush, Alice. It's alright. What did you see?"

Her eyes glanced round the room at the five pairs of eyes staring back at her. Her chest, which now felt like it was made of lead, heaved up and down as she tried not to throw up the deer blood she had earlier that week.

"I need a minute," she finally manages to say. Hastily, she got up and rushed to the balcony upstairs.

Venorm pumping through her veins, she gently places her elbows onto the railing and lets out a sigh.

She didn't expect her little sister to be so..so...beautiful. Golden locks adorned her head like a halo, and her round green eyes were so mesmerising. Alice had only seen her for a brief few seconds, but the pain in her chest was growing.

She didn't get to spend more time with he really little sister, playing with her, talking to her, _protecting_ her like she promised. She couldn't even remember her.

And their father...Alice didn't expect that.

And her poor, poor mother...

"Alice."

She doesn't move.

"Alice, please."

"Not now, Lijah." She seemed to almost choke.

He gently wraps his arms and her waist and nuzzles her neck. "What is it?"

A few minutes pass before she breaks the silence.

"It was scary." She mumbles.

Elijah doesn't say anything, and instead lets her think in peace.

"Maybe it's better if I don't see my past," she says softly. "It doesn't look like it's off to a good start."

"The choice is yours, Alice. Don't feel like you're pressured into anything because I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know," she whispers, reaching her hand up to stroke his head behind her.

Another few moments of silence pass. She can hear murmuring downstairs and the occasional whisper from Lily.

"But I have to know, Lijah."

He turns her round and looks at her. "What do you need to know?"

She closes her eyes and sighs. "I need to know as much as I can before Yun leaves."

He nods. "Only I felt you're strong enough."

She smiled weakly. "If I was strong enough to resist Louboutin heels that one time they were on sale, I'm strong enough for this."

Elijah laughs and pecks her nose. "There's still five days before school starts. You can ask Lily if you can stay over here until Yun has to leave."

She thought for a moment before nodding. "I suppose."

Her voice trails off when a vision hits her.

 _A young man with bronze hair and sunglasses on gets out of a fancy-looking sports car and smiles._

 _"Looks like our house is exactly the way we left it."_

 _A blonde man wearing a doctor's jacket got out the driver's side, also sporting black shades._

 _"Furniture might be a bit outdated, though. Can't imagine anyone uses a gramma phone nowadays."_

 _Bronze-haired boy laughed. "Don't worry, I'll go to Port Angeles tomorrow. I need some books, anyway."_

"Alice?"

She blinked and shook her head.

Was she losing her mind, or had the past few visions she'd been having been full of people she didn't know? It _was_ Angela and Jessica in her previous vision by the river, right?

Maybe she was so stressed recently that her visions weren't working properly?

Yeah, okay, that should explain it.

"What did you see?" He pressed, still holding her.

"It doesn't matter," she shook her head, "nothing important, anyway."

She figured her visions were just messed up for the moment, and that these strangers weren't in any way related to her.

"Let's go for a hunt," she said suddenly, breaking free from his grasp, "I'm thirsty. I want to be full of energy for my next memory session."

Elijah nodded, and the two ran downstairs.

* * *

 _ **A/N: hope you enjoyed!**_


	4. Chapter 3: Firedust

**A/N:Long time no see! Uni has been keeping me busy, and i've been house hunting for my year abroad in Germany so it's been a lil hectic :o**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Alice was deep in thought when she felt a warm hand grab her elbow.

''Alice? What's up? You've been staring at that necklace for ten minutes now.''

She blinked and found Jessica staring intently at her, her blue eyes peaked with curiosity.

''I...'' Alice began, suddenly aware she had been zoning out whilst gripping onto a diamond necklace she had picked up as an excuse to think. She gave a quick smile and put the necklace back. ''Just tired, I guess.''

Angela turned to her and scoffed. ''Alice Weston? Tired from shopping? I think I just witnessed a miracle.''

''Me too,'' Alice breathed and proceeded to take a seat.

Ever since Lijah drove her home after that first session with Yun, all she could think about was Cynthia. Her mother. Her...her bastard of a father.

 _How could such a despicable man exist? Where was Cynthia now? Is she dead or alive? Does she have grandkids? And also, what were with my visions of those random people yesterday?_

''Ugh, school starts in a few days. Can you believe it?''

''Don't remind me!'' Jess sighed, taking a sip of her Starbucks. ''I still have to buy all my stationary and books. Anyone got time to head to the book shop off that Japanese restaurant?''

''Oh, that reminds me,'' Angela began and turned to Alice, who was still deep in thought and subconciously frowning. ''Do you have a cousin or something, Alice?''

Alice slowly looked up in confusion. ''Sorry, what?''

''I mean, do you have family that just moved over here or something?''

Jess gasped. ''Oh, is this the really cute guy you were on about yesterday?''

Angela nodded excitedly.

Alice blinked as Jess and Angela looked at her intently.

''M-me...?'' Alice frowned, pointing a finger to herself. ''Family here?''

What were they talking about? As if there was anyone else that even remotely looked like her in the entire state, let alone Forks.

Although everyone was freakishly pale here.

''Yeah,'' Angela said, ''bumped into this guy in the book shop last night. I swear to god, it hurt so bad - it was like bumping into a rock. Just like when we bump into you, Alice.''

Alice blinked. ''Ok...so the guy had some muscle?''

''No, no, get this,'' she continued, ''I apologize and he helps me up - his skin is ice cold and I almost jumped.''

''Some people just have lower body temperatures I guess,'' Alice shrugged, not really sure where this conversation was going.

''But when I looked up, I was certain he was related to you.''

''Why, because he was just as beautiful as me?'' Alice giggled.

''No, he had gold eyes. Just like you. Not just hazel or light brown, I swear they were sparkling.''

Alice momentarily stopped laughing for a moment. ''Golden?''

Angela nodded. ''Seriously.''

''Ooh, what if they were contacts? You know, in his experimenting phase? Jessica piped in.

''Hmm, maybe. Still cute, though.''

Alice bit her lip and mulled over what Angela had just said. Sure, the guy sounded like he fit the criteria of being a vampire but...golden eyes? She had never met another vegetarian vampire before in her life. She was the only one.

''Yeah, he's probably just experimenting,'' Alice agreed, pushing it to the back of her mind - after all, she had other things to worry about.

The next few hours passed in a blur as Alice juggled shopping, keeping a straight face and not letting her past ruin her day.

 _Ring Ring_

She glanced down at her handbang and pulled out her ringing phone.

''Who is it?'' Angela asked nonchalantly, scanning her eyes over the drinks menu at the milkshake bar they had just walked into.

Alice glanced at the screen and lit up a little inside.

''Elijah,'' she said quietly. Flipping open the phone, she mustered the most disinterested voice she could. ''Yes, Elijah?''

''Nice to hear from you too, sweet,'' he laughed on the other end.

''I'm with Angela and Jessica, _brother_ ,'' she emphasised with a giggle.

''Ah, my bad lil' sis. Anyways, I called you to see if you were up for going to Wichita to have another session with Yun tonight? School starts in a few days so I expect you won't have a lot of opportunities before he leaves for Germany.''

''Tell him we think he's hot!'' Jessica yelled beside her ear.

Alice brushed her away as gently as she could and turned away from her friends.

''I-I don't know if I'm ready, Lijah,'' she whispered softly into the phone. ''All I've been thinking about today is what I saw yesterday. It's been horrible.''

''Listen, no one is forcing you. You decide, okay, honey?''

A few seconds pass, but to Alice it seems like centuries. Her dead heart felt as though it was sinking to the pits of her loins and all she could hear was the drowned out laughing of Angela and Jessica behind her.

''Fine.'' She musters after a few seconds. ''No running. I'll do it.''

''Alright, baby. When are you coming home?''

She turns and wrinkles her nose she she sees Angela's chocolate milkshake coming towards her.

''Now, I think. See you in ten?''

''See you, darling.''

Alice quickly puts her phone in her handbag and grabs her coat, much to the surprise of her two friends.

''You're going already? What happened?'' Angela asked.

''You didn't even get to drink a milkshake!'' Jess quipped.

Alice internally thanked the perfect timing Gods that she didn't have to pretend and take a few forced sips of milkshake to prove to them she didn't have an eating disorder.

''Elijah's car broke down. Got to pick him up.''

''Aw, that's a shame. Never mind, we'll see you some other time for milkshake.''

''Yes. Lots and lots of milkshake.'' Alice nodded with a knowing grin and walked away.

* * *

''Back again, little Alice?''

Alice walked into the living room, followed by Elijah and Emmeline. The car ride had been quiet enough, and she had practically flung herself into Emmeline when she arrived.

''Hello, Yun,'' she murmured softly. ''I'm ready. I want it over fast this time, please.''

Yun nodded and placed his hands on hers. ''As you wish.''

The familiar electric feeling pulses through her veins again, and she feels her vision begin to black out.

 _._

 _She's skinnier than usual and lying on a filthy mattress, her little legs are sprawled out and she clad in a bloody gown._

 _''Brandon, Alice?'' a woman's voice calls._

 _Alice doesn't move and instead continues lying motionlessly._

 _''Get here now!''_

 _She reluctantly pulls herself up from the dirty linen and slowly pads over to the cell door. She gives a little sniffle as the metal door opens with a loud creak and a hand grabs her by the shoulders._

 _''If you're this slow next time then I'm going to make sure the doctor gives you two treatments in a row.''_

 _The nurse flings her small body into a grey room and pushes her onto a chair. Seconds later, a scary-looking man with gloves on enters the room._

 _''How pathetic, our little test bunny.''_

 _The next few moments are filled with torture, screaming, and blood._

 _._

 _She's lying on the filfthy matress again but, this time, she appears to be just coming out of one of her visions._

 _''Jasper!'' she cries, standing up and frantically looking around. Once she realises she's still within the four stone walls, she breathes out sadly and curls up in the corner. ''Jazz...where are you?''_

 _._

 _A cloud clank makes Alice whip her head round to the cell door. A tray of 'food' had been brought in by the nurse, and Alice slowly begins to crawl over to it, her bloody knees leaving stains on the dirty floor._

 _She tenatively picks up a piece of dried bread and begins munching on it. Her eyes roll back when a vision hits her and the dry bread hits the floor with a soft 'plop'. About ten seconds pass before she comes back and excitedly jumps up. Tears are in her eyes and she runs and jumps onto the matress like an excited child._

 _''You're close,'' she sniffles. 'We will meet soon, my love.''_

 _._

Alice jerks back to reality and almost faceplants the table.

''Woah, honey,'' Emmeline whispers, grabbing her shoulders. Alice almost flinches when she remembers the nurse grabbing her shoulders with such ferocity, but relaxes when Emmeline starts to rub circles on her back.

''I...I...'' Alice begins.

''What did you see?'' Yun asks, his hands now placed in front of him on the table.

Alice's eyes were glazed over with anger and her fists were clenched so tightly that they were beginning to leave dents in the wood.

''They tortured me.'' It barely came out as a whisper.

''Your father?'' Elijah asked.

''No,'' she breathed, chest heaving. ''The asylum. They...they tortured me. Constantly. Electrocution. Head-shaving. Whipping. You fucking name it.''

''Oh my god, honey,'' Emmeline whispered, hugging her tight. ''I'm sorry.''

''What else did you see?'' Elijah probed, stroking Alice's arm.

''Jas-'' she began, but suddenly stopped.

No, she couldn't tell them. Especially not Elijah.

''Hm?'' Emmeline asked as she pulled away. ''Jas what?''

Alice discretely looked down at her necklace and then back at Elijah. She couldn't tell him.

''Nothing. I didn't see anything else.''

Elijah was staring intently into her eyes and she knew right away his gift told her that she was lying but, nevertheless, he didn't say anything.

''Is that enough for today or would you like to see more?'' Yun interjected.

Alice sighed and looked up. ''Can I have a break first?''

Yun smiled. ''But of course, little Alice.''

''I'll come with you,'' Elijah quickly said, but she cut him off before he could even help her get up.

''Just Emmeline.'' She snaps a little harsher than intended.

He stops in his tracks and stares at her intently, the hurt in his eyes evident. Emmeline glances between the couple uneasily and takes a step back.

''Please.'' Alice says, softer this time. She gazed into Elijah's eyes and smiled sadly.

After a moment he pulls her close and kisses her forehead. ''Okay. I love you.''

* * *

They had ran a good few miles to the next town over before they were certain they were out of Yun and Elijah's vampiric earshot.

''What was all that about, Alice? Why wasn't Elijah allowed to come?''

Alice slowed her running pace and leaned against a tree in the large forest they had wandered into. Brows creased and arms folded, she let out a big sigh and beckoned Emmeline to come over.

''Look at this,'' she commanded, lifting the necklace up from her chest and flipping it over for Emmeline to read.

Emmeline peered closer and raised a brow in confusion. ''Yours truly...Jazz?'' She looked up at Alice. ''Who's Jazz?''

Alice let the chain fall back against her skin and sniffed. ''Exactly. Who is Jazz?''

Emmeline took a seat on the forest floor in front of her. ''Umm, I don't know, I asked you-''

''That's why I didn't want Elijah to know.'' She blurted out, taking Emmeline aback with her brashness. ''I...I think he was my past lover in my human life.''

Emmeline's eyes widened and she smiled. ''Al, that's so cool! Check you out, gettin' it on with the boys.''

Alice sighed and placed her face in her hands.

''But wait...didn't you die in the asylum? You didn't fall in love with another patient or a doctor, did you? Man, that would be so weird.''

''I mean, I know it's not a big deal.'' She cried, lifting her head from her hands, ''Heck, Lijah's had a few ex-girlfriend-''

'' _Many_ ex-girlfriends,'' Emmeline raised a brow and giggled.

Alice coughed and rolled her eyes. She did not need to reminded that Elijah had 2 failed marriages and 1 failed engagement under his belt from back in the day. But hey, it was the 1890s - everyone kept dying all the time.

''I mean, I know it's not a big deal. He was part of my past, right? My human past, too. But...but...''

Emmeline looked at her friend intently and furrowed her brows in anticipation. ''But what?''

She gaze at Emmeline's red eyes intently and she just knew that what she was about to say would shock her friend.

''I know this sounds fucking ridiculous,'' Alice breathed, and Emmeline widened her eyes a little at Alice's profanity - she hardly ever swore. ''I just have the craziest feeling he's going to jeopardize mine and Lijah's relationship.''

Alice slowly raised her eyes to find Emmeline looking at her with an expression of confusion, amusement and disbelief.

''You're worried your ex...from over a century ago...is going to jeopardize your relationship with Elijah?''

Alice nodded. ''I know, it sounds insane, but I have-''

''Alice, you have got to be kidding me! What are you on about?''

''Hear me out, Em.''

Emmeline gave an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms. ''I'm listening. But I can't believe you're suggesting a dead lover from over a-hundred years ago will get in the way between you and your soulmate.''

''That's the thing...'' Alice whispered. ''I..I think he's still alive.''

Emmeline widened her eyes, the red almost falling out of their sockets. ''I beg your pardon, what?''

''I-I think he's still alive, Em.'' She said, dead-pan serious.

''I-I...y-y-you...I-I... _what? How?_ ''

''I just have this feeling everytime I touch my necklace,'' Alice whispered, rubbing the small golden locket on her chest. ''That's why I never told Lijah about this necklace. Everytime I touch it, it's like...I know there's another life waiting out there for me.''

When she glanced back at Emmeline, she dropped her hand by her side and leaned further back onto the tree.

''I must sound crazy, right?'' She closed her eyes and inhaled the air. ''What the fuck is wrong with me?''

Emmeline pursed her lips and looked at her friend sympathetically. After all, Alice had been going through a lot recently so it made sense her logic wasn't really making any sense.

''Al,'' she said, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. ''Let's go back. You'll find out more, okay?''

Alice slowly fluttered her eyes open and nodded. ''Let's go.''

* * *

She awkwardly walks into the house and immediately Elijah is by her side.

''Are you alright, sweet?'' he asks, his voice filled with worry and despair.

She can't even make herself look at him because she knows she hurt him. That, and she didn't want him calling out her answer to his question.

''I'm fine. Honestly.''

Slowly releasing herself from his grasp, she moves towards the table. Emmeline shoots Elijah a worried glance before making her way into the hallway.

''I'm going upstairs,'' she says, ''I'll be in my room if you guys need me.''

''Alright,'' Yun begins, ''ready?''

She braced herself as Yun placed his hands on top of hers again.

''Yes.''

 _._

 _She's still wearing that bloody gown of hers, edges crustly with dried brown blood and goodness knows what else, but the smile on her face makes it seem as though she couldn't care less._

 _She was running down the streets barefoot, much to the amusement and disgust of many upper-class passerbys, but again she couldn't care less._

 _''Jasper, Jasper,'' she found herself repeating. ''I know you can hear this. Jasper Whitlock, where are you?''_

 _She finally comes to an empty road and the rain is pouring down on her. She shivers slightly and looks around in vain._

 _''Jasper Whitlock. Please, come find me. Rosalie, Emmett, Bella, Edward, Carlisle and Esme. The whole family. I know you can hear me!''_

 _Seconds (which felt like hours to her in her rain-drenched bloody dress and barefeet) pass, and she almost jumps out of her skin when a man with an umbrella emerges from behind a corner. Behind him stood his curious family members._

 _Alice stops dead in her tracks and simply just stares. He begins to walk over to her and she thinks she's going to pass out. Placing the umbrella over them like the southern gentleman he was, he looks down at her and raises an eyebrow._

 _''Who are you?'' he drawls, his husky voice just like she remembered in her visions._

 _''What the...'' a man says from behind him, and she recognises it as Edward, the mind-reader. His eyes widen._

 _''Hear me out,'' she begins, almost hyperventilating from the sight of them all. ''I know who you guys are. I've seen you in my visions - I mean, I'm psychic. I was in an asylum - I wasn't crazy, I promise! My father had me put away because I have the power of seeing the future.''_

 _Jasper blinks and turns back to Edward. Alice can't help but noticed his chiselled jaw and battle scars and thought he looked even more handsome in real life._

 _''Is she telling the truth?''_

 _She began to replay all the visions she had of them and - when Edward realised those things indeed did happen - he opened his mouth in shock and nodded._

 _._

Alice jerked back to reality and let out a huge breath.

''Alice? Alice!'' Elijah called.

She stared at the table in confusion and uttered one word.

 _''Jasper...''_

* * *

 ** _A/N: Hehe, hope you all enjoyed!_**


	5. Chapter 4: Burned Out

_A/N: yay! Another chapter already :-) guess that's the joy of the summer holidays._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Crimson Cigarettes**

\- Chapter 4 -

x

 _Burned Out_

* * *

 _School starts tomorrow._

Alice internally cringed and snuggled tighter into her blanket. She was lounging round the house, keeping her mind off the events of the past few days when she decided to have a little rest on the sofa.

She had already packed her books, her homework over the break (which were all A+ quality, may she add) and arranged her outfits for the next 3 months of school.

 _''Uh, baby? Isn't that a little excessive?'' Elijah asked, laughing as he popped his head round the bedroom door to litters of clothes piled everywhere._

 _''Say that again. I dare you,'' she replied with playful venom in her voice._

 _''No, no, you win.''_

Yun had left the night for Germany a few nights prior, stating some sort of 'emergency' - needless to say, Alice was a little relieved. She didn't know how much more she could take, and perhaps things were fine just the way the were. She figured this 'Jasper' person wasn't really that important.

She didn't need to know about all the trauma of the human life, right? I mean, why look into the past when she had the gift of the future.

Speaking of the future...

She bit her lip as the Hello Kitty blanket tickled her nose, her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her. She'd still been getting the odd blurry vision of a group of people she did not recognise (unless Jess, Lauren, Eric and Mike got some serious makeovers done over school break) talking about pointless things like 'the oven is outdated' and 'Bella is going down to the book store.'

 _Okay...? So your oven is outdated and some chick wants to buy books. Really useful visions here, thanks vampire Jesus._

Suddenly, a devilish idea hit her.

''Elijah, honey?'' she mustered with the sweetest honey she could in her voice.

''Hmmm?'' he called from the kitchen. He must have been doing his university work again.

''Come hereee,'' she purred.

Within five seconds, Elijah was standing by the doorframe with a smile on his face. Alice grinned and threw the blanket off her legs.

''I'm bored,'' she whined. ''Keep me company?''

He smirked and took a step closer. ''Hm, what do you have in mind, dear?''

She raises a brow suggestively and beckons him closer.

''Come here and find out.''

* * *

''The oven is out of date. No surprise,'' Esme said as she peeked in the oven door. ''But still clean as ever.''

''That's because we never used it,'' Carlisle mused, kissing his wife on the cheek. ''Although I'm sure you would've put great use to it as a human.''

Esme returned the kiss on his mouth, and Jasper darted his eyes back to his book.

 _''In 1719 numerous concessions lined the shores of Biloxi. The capital was transferred to Biloxi in 1720 and remained there until 1723-''_

The book was suddenly snatched out of his hands and before he could even react, Rosalie began skimming the lines herself, her sparkling golden eyes dancing across the pages.

She frowned, closed the book to look at the cover, then frowned even deeper.

''Jasper Hale,'' she said as though she was talking to a child who had gotten in trouble, ''what is this?''

He raised a thin brow. '' _Biloxi, Missippi throughout the Years.''_ He answered cooly. ''Is there a problem?''

She rolled her eyes and handed the book back to him, albeit reluctantly. Bella noticed a sharp wave of longing pass through the room (no matter how hard Jasper tried to conceal it, she always knew) and she walked over to him.

''Jazz,'' she said softly, taking a seat next to him on the large sofa. He tensed as he figured she was going to comment on the choice of book, but he was used to hearing it. ''You really need to let her go.''

He continued to look down and remained silent. He had heard that sentence one too many times.

Edward and Emmett looked awkwardly at each other.

''I've honestly lost count of how many times we have told you this,'' Bella cast a look over to Carlise and Esme, who were looking at them apologetically, ''but she's in your past. She's dead. She's gone. It's been over a century since we left her in that asylum-''

''I'm going for a walk.'' He stated matter-of-factly, briskly getting up and walking out the door within a second.

Once they heard the front door close, Rose slumped into the sofa and sighed.

Esme walked over and put a comforting arm around her. ''We're guessing the date with Carmine didn't go well then?''

Rosalie (as well as the rest of the family) had tried to set Jasper up with various vampire acquaintances they had met over the decades in effort to get Jasper to love again. After all, having a depressed empath in the family wasn't doing anyone any good.

Now, she would admit some date were more...'questionable' than others-

 _''Jazz, how did the date go?'' an excited Bella asked, plopping into the seat next to him in the living room._

 _He looked at her for a few seconds before turning his face back to his book and uttering a simple ''She wanted me to put whipped cream on her thighs and lick it off whilst wearing a superman costume.''_

 _The silence that followed in the house was the most awkward ten seconds anyone had ever experienced._

 _-_ but, Carmine was really cool. Edward met her at a poetry festival a few months prior in Oregon, and they all thought that this was Jasper's second chance at love again.

But, without a doubt, _she_ would creep into his mind on the whole date so there wasn't even a chance from the beginning.

''He said she wasn't his type,'' she answered, rubbing her temples.

''He seems to say that about everyone,'' Emmett commented, stroking his wife's hair soothingly. ''He's still hung up.''

Rosalie shook her head and scoffed. ''I think he's genuinely gone insane.''

Esme cocked her head to the side. ''What do you mean?''

When they had initally arrived at Forks a few days prior, they had all commented on a surprisingly familiar scent in the area.

 _''Someone else tell me they can smell a frustratingly familiar scent?''_

 _Edward looked at Bella and looked around the forest._

 _''...yes. Now that you mention it, yes.''_

 _Emmett appeared from behind a tree, elk blood still around his mouth. Bella gave a disgusted laugh and motioned around her mouth with her finger._

 _''Yeah, I was thinking that before,'' he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand._

 _Bella looked around a bit longer before shrugging and taking Edward's hand in hers. ''Probably an old neighbour of ours passing through the town or something.''_

 _They all began to leave, but Rosalie noticed Jasper linger a little._

 _''Jazz, what's the matter with you?''_

''I know this is going to sound insane,'' Edward began, ''but Jasper thinks Alice might be alive. I read his thoughts when he picked up the familiar scent.''

Silence encased the trio as they looked at each other with a mixture of bewilderment and exasperation.

''That's impossible.'' Esme remarked. ''No human can live that long.''

''Exactly,'' Rose said, another big sigh escaping from her lips. ''What I'm saying is, maybe we should give him some space. The move to Forks has _really_ brought out his I-miss-Alice side, and it's just more depressing than his usual I-miss-Alice side.''

Bella nodded. ''She's dead, and he needs to let her go.''

* * *

Jasper took a deep breath and took a seat on the bench. The park was quiet and he was thanful, for he couldn't be dealing with everyone's emotions at once.

He began subconsciously rubbing his wrist, and he looked down at the bracelet that was on his pale wrist.

It was a gold chain given to him by Maria.

 _After he had left Alice..._

Maria had found out about him leaving Alice and, as expected, she was over the moon. She had asked him to return to her and, in a moment of weakness (he was hurting infinitely from little Alice), he succumbed to the request.

Needless to say, he returned to the Cullen within weeks - missing his family and Alice more than ever before.

But she was gone. She must have died in the asylum.

His fists clenched as he began to remember all the things she told him about that place.

 _''They eletrocuted me three times a day. Sometimes they didn't feed me for days on end, and they shaved my head when I asked for more food.''_

How could he leave her there? He should've taken on Maria and her newborns, maybe she would have lived a better life. He should've died, not her-

''Hi.''

His eyes flew open at the sound of the nasally feminine voice and turned to find a young girl - perhaps around seventeen - staring intently at him with a strange grin on her face.

He tried hard not to twist his face in disgust as a blonde girl with heavy makeup and big lips he had never seen before radiated lust and curiosity, and instead nodded his head in acknowlegement and turned away. She saw him look away and frowned.

''I'm Nerissa,'' she said, taking a seat next to him (much to his dismay) and stuck her mannicured hand out. He looked at it as if it were poison.

Realising that he wasn't going to shake her hand, she awkwardly retracted it and shuffled closer to him instead.

Thank god the girl didn't smell appealing at all (too much sugary perfume, he noted thankfully) and so he decided to wait until she would just leave him alone.

But that wasn't going to happen.

''I'm Nerissa. Nerissa Hamilton. I go to Forks High and I've never seen you round before?''

Forks High.

He turned his head slightly and she grinned even wider.

''Are you one of the new exchange students by any chance?'' a sharp peak of hope suddenly sweeping across to him, and he almost sighed.

 _Hope._

 _Alice..._

He wanted to kick himself for being brought up such a gentleman, for he couldn't just ignore her like Emmett always did when he received unwanted female attention.

That, and Rosalie was intimidating as fuck.

''I am,'' he finally replied, hoping that his curt answer would deter her from asking anything else.

But, who was he kidding. The amount of attention his family got wherever they went was just insane, and he could only guess that this girl was simply a taster session for the full blown thing tomorrow.

''No way! I-''

''I'm sorry, ma'am, but I have some place to me,'' he said quickly, and stood up from his seat. ''My apologies.''

The look of dismay on her face _almost_ made him feel a little bad, but he was gone before she could even say anything else.

As he walked away, he made sure to replace her feelings of hope with feelings of indifference.

He had witnessed hope in its purest form before, and she was doing an awful job at it.

* * *

Alice was never really a big fan of sex, but she and Elijah had some pretty damn-good sex.

''Alice, doll? Can you bring my coat downstairs?'' he called, a little breathlessness still in his voice from their activities from before.

The petite spiky-haired girl giggled and quickly glanced around the room.

''But I'm deciding what to wear to school tomorrow!'' she whined playfully, reluctant to tear her eyes away from her wide array of blouses and skirts.

A deep laugh came from downstairs and she couldn't help but to giggle along.

''You've already decided that!''

''But I changed my mind, sweet.''

'' _Please,_ darling,'' the voice pleaded with just as much playfulness. ''I have to go hunt.''

Her golden eyes scanned the room and stopped when they landed on a brown coat draped over the chair in the corner.

''The brown fur one, honey?'' she called. Picking it up in her small hands, she smiled as she drew circles in the fur. She had given him this coat last week for their ten-year anniversary and she couldn't stop fawning over the detail.

''Oh, not that one. I need the blue one by the dresser.''

Whipping her head round to the left, a pool of navy blue caught her eye.

''I see it!'' she chirped. ''How long do you think you'll be out hunting, sweet?'' she asked as she grabbed the coat and dusted it off with her hand.

''Probably only a few hours. I'll be back before-''

She dropped the coat when she felt the familiar beginnings of a vision take hold of her.

 _I'm probably going to see what animal he's going to catch later,_ she mused to herself as her vision began to black out.

 _''Here we go. Expect all eyes on us again.''_

 _''Shut up. You love it really, Rose.''_

She's confused, her hands twitching as a blurry vision unfolds in front of her eyes.

Forks High School.

Cafeteria tables.

Doors opening.

Stunned students.

Alice drops the coat as the biggest migraine she'd ever experienced hit her, her limbs were all shaking and her vision was becoming clearer.

 _''I'm not being fucking funny, but I swear I recognise the scent of someone in this cafeteria. It's so damn strong.''_

Her breath is coming out in ragged intervals as her vision is now crystal clear.

Pale skin. Blonde hair and bitchy resting face.

 _R-Rosalie..Rosalie...Hale._

Copper bronze hair and an arrogant smile.

 _E...Ed..ward...Masen._

Long brown hair and a timid smile.

 _Isa..bella S-Swan._

Short black hair and deathly gaze.

 _Em-Emmett! Emmett McCarty._

She was convulsing on the floor at this point, too far gone to hear if Elijah had come upstairs to check on her.

It had been almost one-hundred years.

Too long.

Too damn long.

 _One-hundred fucking years_.

Suddenly, all the flashbacks made sense. All the fucking visions made sense.

They were back.

Sure, almost an entire century had passed - to an immortal like her, it felt like nothing.

But so much had happened.

So much had changed.

They didn't know her anymore. She didn't know them. They were strangers.

...what the hell were they doing in her visions?

''Alice? Alice!'' Elijah's voice momentarily broke her out of her pain, and he managed to lift her up to her feet. ''What the hell is wrong? Tell me!''

She needs to sit down. Her world is spinning.

Bouts of visions filled with blurs of pale skin, trees, and high school students filled her mind.

All the memories she had been suppressing for the last few decades came crashing down on her like tidal waves -

\- and she was drowning, drowning, drowning.

She managed to look into her love's golden eyes before a sudden image of another set of golden eyes danced across her vision.

 _''Alice. I've missed you.''_

''Oh my fucking god.''

Finally, the visions she had been having came to an abrupt stop. Her rock hard body collapsed onto the wooden floor with a loud bang.

''Alice? Alice!''

She lay on the floor, entrapped and suffocated by the weight of her memories, unable to bring herself up.

* * *

 _A/N: hope you all enjoyed!_


End file.
